Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Sultry and seductive are just two of the many tags that Quango recording artist Rosey has tucked in her back pocket, but those come just as easily as what Entertainment Weekly once dubbed "as cool as anything you'll hear" or as Rolling Stone described as "Boho chic, grrrl power". Sassy and alluring, she's sauntering back with her new album Luckiest Girl to be released April 8th 2008, proudly displaying a new jazzy direction that's perfectly suited for her smoky and textured vocals.

Making huge waves with her 2002 debut album Dirty Child, Rosey graced the pages of publications such as Blender, Cosmo, Stuff Magazine, and was even featured in the Annie Leibovitz-shot pic from Vanity Fair's uber-influential New Music Issue with Alicia Keys, John Mayer, among many others. Launching into 2008 with a new album and a new direction, this chanteuse still remains fiercely in control of her own vision.

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Listen to A Felicidade (Happiness) by clicking hereFrom Karrin’s liner notes: I began this recording project as I do all others, wanting to sing songs I love with players I love. Since there are far too many songs and players I love to put them all on a single album, one has to choose, of course. During this process, my dear friend and “Brazilian mentor,” Lúcia Guimarães, was coaching me on my Portuguese pronunciation for the various songs I had already chosen. At the time, I had been reading a lot about Antonio Carlos Jobim and Vinicius de Moraes and was lamenting the fact that I had not chosen more songs that were penned by them—there are so many great ones. One particular day that Lúcia and I were together, I expressed this idea to her and she proceeded to show me several lesser known (at least to me) gems by Jobim (such as “Imagina” and “Correnteza”), de Moraes (such as “Medo de Amar”), and Jobim/de Moraes collaborations (such as “Estrada Branca”)—songs that I immediately fell in love with.

So, although the concept of recording an album of Brazilian songs wasn't changing, many of the song choices were—and this was less than three weeks before we were scheduled to record! For me—a non-native speaker of Portuguese—this presented a real challenge: learning all that Portuguese and new material in such a short amount of time. But, as Leonard Bernstein said, “To achieve great things, two things are needed; a great idea and not nearly enough time.” Also it has been said that “revelations take time.” Ha! With this in mind, we went a step further as I was also very keen on making this recording “user friendly” to non-Portuguese speakers/listeners. I wanted folks to get these songs no matter what language they speak, while trying to remain as true to the Brazilian feel and sound as possible.

Enter Chris Caswell. On our previous recording project, Footprints, Chris wrote beautiful lyrics to well-known jazz instrumental standards. Why not tap his talents for this project too? He was (of course) game, and I am delighted to be the first to record his new English lyrics to Vinicius de Moraes’s “Medo de Amar” and Edu Lobo’s “Pra Dizer Adeus.” It’s hard for me now to imagine these songs without his lyrics. Along with Chris’s new lyrics, I’ve also included a very sensual English lyric by Paul Williams to Rosa Passos's song "Outono,” lovely English lyrics by Susannah McCorkle (“A Felicidade” and “Vivo Sonhando”), Jon Hendricks’s classic English lyric to “Desafinado,” and the sweet English lyrics of Gene Lees to “Estrada Branca” and “Double Rainbow.” So, while many of the songs on this recording feature the alluring beauty of the original Portuguese lyrics only (what a gorgeous, poetic sounding language!), I am pleased to be able to present several of the songs with wonderful English lyrics too.

But truly the most important language in this project, and easily the most universally understood, is that of the Brazilian music—that evocative, intoxicating combination of unforgettable melodies, rich harmonies, and infectious rhythms. Whatever your native language is, I hope that these Songs of Brasil speak directly to your heart, as they have to mine.

Friday, March 21, 2008

It's somewhat ironic that Gerald Veasley, one of the most inventive bassists of the current generation of contemporary jazz players, would base the title concept of his latest disc, Your Move, on the kinetic game of chess.

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Happy birthday wishes to smooth jazz saxophonist Kim Waters, who celebrated his 43rd birthday yesterday (March 18th). Waters left Hartford Community College in Baltimore before receiving his degree to play saxophone at various clubs across the country, including a stint in Las Vegas. Strongly influenced by the work of Grover Washington Jr., Kim put together a demo tape at age 20 and soon snagged his first record deal. The result was his 1989 debut, Sweet And Saxy, which proved to be a top-selling album for the newcomer.

Waters followed up with several R&B-leaning sets, like 1991's Sax Appeal and 1993's Peaceful Journey. But with the spread of smooth jazz radio in the early '90s and the fact that fewer R&B stations were playing instrumental hits, Waters embraced the smooth jazz format. He has released a total of 14 solo albums, including 2005's All For Love and his most recent, 2007's You Are My Lady.

Waters explains that his consistency as a musician keeps fans loyal: "I think it's a lot to do with the length of time I've been in the business and, just kind of establish yourself as an artist and you build to your fan base and it keeps growing. And of course over the last 10 years we've had a tremendous run at radio: smooth jazz, contemporary, and urban. Just trying to do the right songs and keep the right melodies that people can understand and I think that contributes to the success."

Waters has also been involved in several ensemble projects. In 2005, he co-produced the hip-hop jazz project titled Tha Hot Club. The set, which was co-produced by Waters, features instrumental versions of hip-hop hits like Beyonce's "Crazy In Love," Nelly's "Right Thurr," Wyclef Jean's "Party To Damascus," and 50 Cent's "In Da Club." Waters also plays saxophone, bass, and keyboards on the album.

Waters was also the producer of the successful Streetwize hip-hop jazz projects. Streetwize: Smooth Urban Jazz was released in 2002, with Streetwize: Work It! following in 2003. The second volume featured flutist Nestor Torres, saxophonist David Mann, guitarist Chuck Loeb, and trumpeter Randy Brecker. The third volume, is titled Streetwize: Sexy Love, was released in May 2007.

For several years Waters has been touring as a member of The Sax Pack, which releases its first CD project, Fallin' For You, today (March 18th). The Sax Pack also features fellow saxophonists Jeff Kashiwa and Steve Cole.

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

On March 25, guitarist Lionel Loueke will make his Blue Note Records debut with Karibu, a stunning album that takes its title from a Swahili word meaning “welcome." It's a fitting name, as the opening title track invites the listener into the musical world of one of the most distinctive new voices in Jazz. Featuring Loueke's long-standing trio of bassist Massimo Biolcati and drummer Ferenc Nemeth, Karibu is also graced by rare guest appearances by two legends: pianist Herbie Hancock and saxophonist Wayne Shorter.

Loueke is also featured on Hancock's recent album, River: The Joni Letters (Verve Music Group), a tribute to Joni Mitchell which was just awarded “Album of the Year" at the 50th Annual Grammy Awards. The album also features Jazz legends like Shorter and Dave Holland, as well as superb guest vocalists including Mitchell herself, Norah Jones, Tina Turner, and Corinne Bailey Rae.

Loueke will also be touring again this summer as a member of Hancock's quartet and also featured as the opening act, including a June 23 performance at Carnegie Hall in New York for the JVC Jazz Festival, and an extensive run of European tour dates from late June through early August.

Loueke and Hancock first met when he decided to audition for the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz where the pianist was a teacher. “I flipped," says Hancock, recalling the moment he first heard Loueke's audition tape. “I'd never heard any guitar player play anything close to what I was hearing from him. There was no territory that was forbidden, and he was fearless!"

After several years of touring and recording with trumpeter Terence Blanchard, who was also a teacher at the Monk Institute, Loueke joined Hancock and has been a part of his regular band ever since. Loueke signed with Blue Note Records in 2007, the same label which released Hancock's own auspicious 1962 debut, Takin' Off, as well as his other early classics including Maiden Voyage and Speak Like a Child.

Click here to check out the Karibu digital player and a video about the making the album.

The horn-blowing trio known as the Sax Pack makes its CD debut tomorrow, March 18th, with Fallin'For You on Shanachie. Featuring smooth jazz saxophonists Jeff Kashiwa, Kim Waters, and Steve Cole, the album comes after three years of summer tours by the talented threesome.

The new set includes covers of the '60s hit "Tequila" featuring guitarist Jeff Golub, the Norman Connors tune "You Are My Starship," and the War classic "The World Is A Ghetto." The set also includes original tunes such as "Maceo," a tribute to funk saxophonist Maceo Parker.

Kashiwa came up with the concept and got the Sax Pack tour kicked off in 2004. His buddy Waters explained how the idea got rolling: "That was Jeff Kashiwa's idea. Jeff called me, he said, 'Man, I've got a great idea. You've heard of the Rat Pack? Let's try the Sax Pack. And then he presented it to the agent, and then the agent got on the phone, and then some dates started coming in. So I said, OK, I'll do it, you know. But it's a great idea, though. Jeff is a great, great player and a hell of an entertainer. He's a funny guy."

The Sax Pack's next live concert is scheduled for April 19th at the Sea Breeze Festival in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida. For the complete tour itinerary, go to thesaxpack.com.

Saturday, March 15, 2008

Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke, Al Di Meola and Lenny White Planning Extensive North American and European Tour Tour Sure to Be "THE Jazz Event of 2008" (Beyond Jazz)

Return to Forever, one of the most influential groups of the 1970s, have long heard calls from their many fans for a reunion tour. Now those calls have been answered, with the classic lineup of keyboardist Chick Corea, bassist Stanley Clarke, guitarist Al Di Meola and drummer Lenny White planning a tour across the U.S. and Europe that will be their first performances together in more than 25 years.

The foursome is expected to play 40 to 50 dates across the U.S. and Europe, featuring the classic music from their four chart-topping albums. "It’s been a long time coming," says founder Chick Corea, "and I think it's going to be a blast! We plan to take the songs from the albums we made in the '70s and just play them like they’ve never been played before."

"In retrospect, the '70s were a very powerful time in instrumental music," Stanley Clarke adds. "We’re going to go out and play our music as honestly as we did then, and it will be a great thing for all of us."Return to Forever helped create and define fusion, a new genre that brought multitudes of rock 'n' roll fans into the jazz world for the first time. Their influence is evident today in many musical genres, from the hip-hop samplings of Dr. Dre and Lupe Fiasco to a litany of jam bands to techno and prog bands.

A special Return to Forever anthology featuring remixed and remastered tracks from the classic albums 'Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy', 'Where Have I Known You Before', 'No Mystery' and 'Romantic Warrior' will be released to coincide with the tour.

Al Di Meola says, "This is something we’ve talked about for close to 30 years... how’s that? 30 years! We’ve come close a few times, but finally the timing was right."

"We all felt the time was right to come back on a grand scale, raise the bar again and show people what serious music is really about," Lenny White concludes.

Ted Kurland Associates is the booking agency for 2008's Return to Forever tour, about which Russ Davis, Program Director for Beyond Jazz on XM Satellite Radio and the Jazz America Program on Voice of America enthuses: "The RTF reunion will be THE jazz event of 2008. Rarely does a magical event like this occur. I’m one of millions of fans who can’t wait!"